Health Center Staff – St. Joseph's Indian School

Greetings from St. Joseph’s Health Center!

The last couple of weeks before school was out for the summer, the Lakota children weren’t sick much, which meant not many children staying at the health center for the day. We find more time in the spring to get our work done.

The health center staff is wrapping up for the school year and ready for a two-month break. For the most part, the students who stay at St. Joseph’s Indian School for the summer program stay healthy and rarely see the physician. We have a physician come in a couple days a week for an hour or so, just in case.

Nurse Ronda rounded up eyeglasses to keep over the summer. We do this for the children who tend to lose them frequently or those who don’t wear except for school and study. In the fall, when students check in through the health center, we give the glasses back to them. This makes life so much easier for everyone. They have their glasses and are ready for learning again.

I’m busy setting up eye and dental appointments for next fall already. We want to make sure that there are openings ready to go when the Lakota children return to campus this fall. If a student has an eye or dental issues we need to address right away, we’ll be sure to have an appointment!

Hope you all have a safe, fun-filled and blessed summer!

God Bless

Nancy

School Nurse

T-ball, tether ball, softball… duck!

The Lakota children play on T-ball teams in the spring. — I got it, I got it!

Hello all you blog readers!

This is Nancy the Nurse reporting in from St. Joseph’s Health Center. Ahhh yes, spring is here! Bring on the sunburns and mosquito bites. Ok, I may be jumping ahead a bit… The mosquitoes are still wearing their winter coats, but the sun is blessing us with longer hours and warmer weather (after the big spring storm, anyway). The Lakota children at St. Joseph’s Indian School are now riding their bikes, participating in track and dodging facial blows from the tether ball, baseball, basketball, T-ball, whiffle ball, football, and golf ball. Life is good!

The flu season had a short run and not too furious. Around 30 of our Native American children ended up with the flu this winter. High School sports took a toll on knees and fingers. It seemed there were more of these injuries than usual. Most of the Lakota students have healed nicely, but there are a few still in physical therapy.

Bones aren’t the only thing breaking around here. We’ve had too many broken pair of eye glasses to count! They just don’t make ’em like they used to. Oh wait, I guess those goofy- looking, thick plastic frames are coming back in style… We’ll have to encourage more children to choose that kind. J The eye doctor’s receptionist keeps a kind, but frozen smile on her face every time we bring in a pair for repair.

Safety is a top priority at St. Joseph’s Indian School. — The Lakota students always wear helmets and other safety equipment when playing.

So what else is going on at the Health Center? We are seeing students with strep throat, colds and an occasional stomach virus. We had a student who needed an appendectomy this fall and another one this spring. I hope we are done with that!

We are also finishing up the children’s dental work at Dr. Daily’s office in Chamberlain. That makes the children VERY happy. So, that’s a little summary of the last several months.

So what can we expect the next couple months before school is out? Although safety is a big priority around here, there will likely be another broken something or other, a scraped knee or elbow and a set of stitches across someone’s skin. Did I say life is good? IT IS!

Enjoy your spring everyone! And remember to duck if you see a ball coming your way.

Nancy the Nurse

Having Fun & Keeping Fit

Keeping fit and strong is important to us at the health center, not just for the Lakota students, but for our employees as well.

Nurse Ronda has been a yoga instructor for years. Jeff, our PA, has been a wrestling coach in his spare time for as long as I’ve known him.

. Joseph’s Health Center team takes great care of the Lakota boys and girls! — Nurse Ronda (top left) is a yoga instructor. Jeff (center) coaches wrestling. Nurse Nancy (right) has now become a fitness instructor!

So, with a desire to keep myself fit as well, I have become a certified fitness instructor! I am offering aerobic exercise classes to St. Joseph’s employees after work a couple days a week. Fun and free. Can’t go wrong with that, right?

We’ll see how many hang in there till spring.

Have a wonderful day!

News from the Health Center

After a little holiday vacation, the health center is back in the swing of things at St. Joseph’s Indian School!

We’ve seen plenty children with strep throat and, to make things more exciting, influenza A has hit! Sound terrible doesn’t it? It really hasn’t been that bad.

We’ve only had about 6 or 8 students with the flu since coming back from Christmas break. All the Lakota children have had a flu shot, so this helps slow the epidemic.

Of course, when the children are sick they don’t go to school. Instead, they come to the health center for the day (sometimes in their pajamas) and hang out with the nurses!

We love to give them special treatment while they are with us: their own room, a small TV to watch, a comfy bed, and let’s not forget a delicious bowl of chicken noodle soup and crackers for lunch. Does soup get boring? Maybe, but it’s great incentive to get well faster. *smile*

At 3 pm, when the school day is nearly over and houseparents return to the homes, we pack up the little sweethearts (with a mask if necessary) and off they go to their home with instructions on what sort of care they need that evening.

Have a Wonderful Day!

Nurse Nancy & Nurse Ronda